Combination-lock



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. VANWART. COMBINATION LOOK.

No. 487,138. Patented Nov. 29, 1892.

INVENTOR A TTORN E Y S.

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(No Model.)-

2 SheetsSheet 2. E. VANWART. COMBINATION LOOK.

Patented Nov. 29, 1892.

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U NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN VANWART, OF PORT MADISON, WVASHINGTON.

COMBINATION-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 487,138, dated November 29, 1892.

Application filed March 19,1892. Serial No. 425,556. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN VANWART, of Port Madison, in the county of Kitsap and State of Washington, haveinvented a new and Improved Combination-Lock, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in combination-locks; and the object of my invention is to produce a simple lock which may be cheaply made, having its parts constructed so that they may be readily stamped out, and which is especially adapted for use upon a house-door, although it may be used with various other articles.

To this end my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a broken front elevation of the lock as applied to a door. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line a: as in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a broken Vertical section on the line w w in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is asectional front elevation with the front plate removed. Fig. 5 is a broken vertical section on the line 1; o in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a sectional plan on the line y y in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 7 is a broken detail section on the line 2 z in Fig. 6. is a detail perspective view of one of the turnblers; and Fig. 9 is a broken detail view of the inner plate, showing the inside handle for moving the gate of the lock.

The lock is provided with a common form of case 10, which is preferably rectangular in shape and which is adapted to be let into the front or free edge of a door, and the lock-case has a face-plate 11, which is adapted to be held in the usual way, so that it will be flush with the front edge of the door 12, which swings opposite the jamb or casing 13 in the usual way.

The lock is provided with removable outside and inside plates 14 and 15, which are adapted to cover it and which are also adapted to be secured to the door.

The lock is provided with a bolt 16, adapted to project through its front face and enter a Fig. 8'

recess in the door-jamb in the usual way, and this locking-bolt 16 is formed on the front edge of a sliding plate 17, which is held. to move back and forth in the lock-case, and the bolt is set in from the plate 17, but held parallel therewith, as best shown in Fig. 6. The bolt 16 is provided with transvers dovetail recesses 18, and these are connected bya narrow slot 19, the object of the recesses and slot being to receive the locking-key 20, which projects transversely through thecase near the front edge and is adapted to project through a slot or aperture in the outer plate 14. This key has its end portions shaped to correspond with the dovetail recesses 18 of the lockingbolt, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and the middle portion of the keyis reduced, as shown at 21, so that when this middle portion comes opposite the slot 19 in the bolt 16 the latter may slide freely. The key 20 is normally pressed outward by a flat spring 22, which is secured to the inner portion of the lock-case and the free end of which enters a slotin the key, and the pressure of the spring normally holds the key so that the inner end portion will enter one of the recesses 18 and prevent the bolt 16 from being moved.

The bolt 16 is held within the case when the door is open; but when the door is closed the outer or free end of the key 20 strikes a stop-bead 13, which projects inward from the outer edge of the door-jamb 13, and this pushes the key inward, so that the part. 21 will come opposite the slot 19 in the bolt 16, and the bolt will then fly into the recess in the door-jamb, thus securing the door.

The plate 17 is narrower than the lock-case, so that it may have the requisite movement, as shown in Fig. 3, the movement of the plate corresponding very nearly to the length of the bolt 16. One end 23 of the plate 17 is thickened, and this thickened portion is provided with the usual recess 24., in which the twowinged follower 25 of the door-spindle 26 moves, the spindle projecting through the lock-case and having the usual knobs 27 at its ends. The plate 17 is normally pressed outward by a spring 28, which is secured to the back edge of the lock-case and presses against the plate. The arrangement of the spring, the recessed plate, and the door-spindle and follower for moving the plate is substantially like that of a common lock. The plate 17 is provided with a plurality of rectangular recesses 29, these being arranged in rows one above another, as best shown in Fig. 3, and the recesses of each horizontal row are connected centrally by slots 30, and similar slots 31 are produced near the outer edge of the plate to provide for the movement of the tumblers 32.

The tumblers 32 are held in the recesses 29, and each tumbler is of rectangular shape and has on one edge a flange 33 and similarflanges 34 at the ends, this construction producing practically a rectangular box with one side and edge removed, as shown in Fig. 8. The tumblers 32 are arranged in the paths of the inner ends 35 of the latches 36, which latches are pivoted beneath the tumblers, there being a latch for each tumbler, and the latches are supported in a plate 37, which is secured in the front side of the lock-case 10, and the outer ends of the latches terminate in fingerpieces 36, which may be either lettered or numbered. The latches are pivoted on rods 39, which are held in grooves 38 in the plate 37, and the latches have a vertical movement in slots 40 in said plate. The latches also project outward through similar slots in the face-plate 14 of the lock. The slots 40 merge at their upper ends in rectangular recesses 41, which are adapted to support the outer ends of the tumblers 32.

It will be noticed that there is a tumbler for each latch and the tumblers are numbered to correspond with the latches, the numbers being produced in the drawings simply to more clearly illustrate the working of the look, as in practice it is not necessary to number the tumblers. The inner ends of the tumblers 32 are supported in recesses 42 in a plate 43, which is secured in the inner side of the lock-case 10.

In the central portion of the case and parallel with the plates 17, 37, and 43 is a vertically-movable gate 44, which is held in slideways 45 on opposite edges of the case, and this gate is provided with rectangular recesses 46, through which the tumblers 32 pass, and the recesses are provided on the under side and on one edge with offsets 47, which are adapted to receive the flanges 33 of the tumblers. The object of this gate is to provide for either permitting or preventing the sliding of the plate 17. The gate is provided on its inner side with a post 48, which projects inward through'slots formed in the plates 17, 43, and 15, and the outer end of the post is formed into a handle 49. The post 48 is pivoted in the gate 44 and at a point near the outer surface of the plate 15 it is provided with an offset 50, which is adapted to fit into the recess 51, produced in the outer face of the plate 15 and at one side of the slot 52 in said plate, through which the post projects. This construction is best shown in Figs. 6 to 9. By reference to Fig. 9 it will be seen that by turning the post in one direction the offset 50 will fill the slot 52, so that the gate 44 cannot be moved Vertically; but by turning the post one-quarter Way round the offset 50 will enter the recess 51 and the post and handle may then be moved vertically, so as to move the tumblers. By simplyturning the handle 49, then, the gate may be fixed so that the lock may be operated by simply turning the door-knob, thus adapting it for day use.

The operation is as follows: When the tumblers 32 are arranged with their flanges downward, the bodies of the tumblers will align with the slots 30 and 31 in the sliding plate 17, and the plate may then be freely moved; but by turning one or any number of the tumblers over the bodies will be brought out of alignment with the slots 30 and 31 in the sliding plate 17 and the plate cannot be moved, and consequently the door cannot be opened. In the drawings (see Fig. 3) the lock is set on 1, 3, and 5 -that is, the tumblers so numbered are turned over with their flanges uppermost and with their bottom portions out of alignment with the slots 30 and 31 of the sliding plate 17. We will suppose that the door is locked and that the tumblers are in these positions, as shown in said Fig. 3. To open the door, it is necessary for the person on the outside to depress the outer ends of the latches 36, which are opposite the tumblers 1, 3, and 5, and byso doing these tumblers will be raised, so that their bottom portions will align with the slots 30 and 31 of the sliding plate 17, and by then turning the door-knob the follower 25 will throw back the sliding plate against the pressure of the spring 28, thus withdrawing the bolt 16 from the recess in the door-jamb, and the door may be opened.

It will be seen that any number of tumblers may be arranged as specified to lock the door, and the combination may be made as hard or easy as desired. When the door is closed, the bolt 16 will be held within the case 10, and when the key 20 strikes the stop 13 of the door-jamb it will be pushed inward,thus per-. mitting the spring 28 to push the plate 17 forward and cause the bolt 16 to slide into the recess in the door-jamb. It is not necessary to work the combinationto open the door from the inside, as this may be done by simply raising the gate 44 by means of the post 48, as this movement will lift the tumblers 1, 3, and 5, or any number which may be set, as described, and bring their bottom portions into alignment with the slots in the slotted locking-plate.

When the gate is raised, as described, it will not affect the tumblers which have their flanges downward, as the flanges 33 of the tumblers will enter the recesses 47 of the gate.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the parts of the lock are either in form of plates or rectangular pieces, and hence they may be all stamped out and be cheaply ma e.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A look comprising a case, a sliding locking-plate mounted therein, said plate having transverse recesses with connecting-slots and the usual spring-and-knob mechanism for operating it, a locking-bolt secured to the plate and adapted to project through the front edge of the case, recessed stationary plates arranged opposite the locking-plate, tumblers held in the recesses of the several plates, said tumblers havingflanges at right angles to their bodies, and a plurality of latches pivoted on one side of the lock and adapted to engage the tumblers, substantially as described.

2. A look comprising a case, a sliding locking-plate mounted therein, said plate having transverse recesses connected by transverse slots and the usual knob-and-spring mechanism for moving it, a locking-bolt produced on the locking-plate and projecting through the front edge of the case, recessed plates arranged on opposite sides of the locking-plate, tumblers held in the recesses of the several plates and adapted to register with the transverse slots of the locking-plate, so as to permit the free movement of the latter, and a plurality of latches pivoted on one side of the plate and adapted to move the tumblers, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the lock-case having recessed side plates, the sliding locking-plate having the transverse recesses, the transverse slots and the locking-bolt, as described, the tumblers held in the recesses of the several plates, and the vertically-movable gate having recesses to receive the tumblers, said gate having a handle projecting through one side of the lock, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the lock-case, the sliding recessed locking-plate having trans verse slots therein, the tumblers adapted to register with said slots, the vertically-movable gate held Within the case and having recesses to receive the tumblers, the post secured to the gate and extending through one side of the lock, and means for fixing the plate by turning the post, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the lock-case, the slidinglocking-bolthavingconnected recesses, the spring-pressed key adapted to enter said recesses and having a reduced central portion to register with a slot connecting the recesses, and a stop produced on the jamb of the door and adapted to engage the free end of the key, substantially as described.

EDWIN VANl/VART.

Witnesses:

FRED W. COMSTOOK, J OSEPH PITT. 

